The signing ceremony for 'Turboshaft Engine Development Project' was held on February 07, 2017 at UDI Nuri Demirag meeting hall upon attendance of Prof. Dr. Ismail Demir, Undersecretary for Defense Industries, and Prof. Dr. Mahmut F. Aksit, President and CEO of TEI.

The project will be carried out under the leadership of Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (UDI) Sub-Systems Department, under which design, development and testing infrastructure for gas turbine engines will be generated in our country on one hand, and the 1400 shp original and indigenous engine with the applicable type certificate will be developed by TEI in order to be integrated into the original Helicopter, on the other hand.

Turboshaft Engine Development Project will be carried out for 8 years by a team of approximately 250 engineers all of whom are TEI employees serving at TEI's Engineering Offices in Eskisehir, Ankara and Istanbul.

Any future derivatives of the engine may be utilized to power the indigenous platforms such as ATAK and HURKUS. Moreover; core technology of the engine will form the basis for the engine needed for "Indigenous Training/Fighter Aircraft - T/FX", and it will be possible to develop the indigenous aircraft engine when needed, upon any necessary technological additions to the capabilities gained under Turboshaft Engine Development Project.

The TEI turboshaft signing ceremony was attended by the head of the SSM, Dr. İsmail Demir, TEI’s General Manager Dr. Mahmut F. Akşit and other dignitaries.

[According to] Hurriyet, TEI is to design and develop gas turbines and a 1,400 shp turboshaft engine over eight years. In addition to the TAI T-625 helicopter, the TEI turboshaft will also power the TAI T-129 ATAK attack helicopter and TAI Hürkuş turboprop-powered trainer and light combat aircraft.

Turkey had been studying the development of turboshaft engines for some years, with TEI itself setting a 20-year roadmap for domestic turboshaft and turbofan development. The latter will equip the TAI TFX next-generation fighter.

With an output of 1,400 shp, the TEI turboshaft should have a power rating similar to the T-129 ATAK’s current engine, the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC) T800, which was jointly developed by Rolls-Royce and Honeywell. Initially, the TAI T-625 will also be powered by the T800.

Indigenization of critical technologies will serve a core aspect of Turkey’s long-term strategy of becoming a leading defence and aerospace exporter. Currently, Turkey depends on foreign turboshaft designs, such as the General Electric T700, which require it to secure licenses and approval for exports. Securing licenses for certain customers, such as Pakistan, had been an issue of concern. In the long-term, the availability of the TEI turboshaft should rectify this issue.

Turboshaft development is costly, but TAI and TEI benefit from a domestic market, which will ensure launch orders and provide initial scale to distribute the development cost. However, the Turkish industry will benefit from actual control over its products, which will open it to a wider addressable market. It could also market the engine as a stand-alone product to overseas helicopter manufacturers.

Turkey will be using this turboshaft design for the long-term, during which it will continue developing the platform and producing it for many different applications.